Compartment tray for packaging foods



E. HOLOUBVEK I COMPARTMENT TRAY FOR PACKAGING FOODS March 16, 1931.

zsheets-sheet 1 Filed Sept. 1, 1934 1 UYVUCMM Edward Holoubelt March 16, 1937. E. HOLOUBEK 2,073,635

COMPARTMENT TRAY FOR PACKAGING FOODS Filed Sept. 1, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 150. I as I 7? (WWW x 26awe; 2 "76 amen 1M Edward )ioloubeid A Patented Mar. 16, 1937 UNITED {STATES PATENT OFFICE COMPARTMENT TRAY FOR PACKAGING FOODS 1 Claim.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in compartment trays for packaging food. 7

The primary object of the invention is to pro- 5 vide a compartment tray wherein different foods to comprise a dinner or meal are packaged and hermetically sealed with each character of food confined in its compartment out of communication with the other compartments so that the i difierent foods to constitute an entire meal may be packaged in a single tray.

It is a further object of the invention to provide compartment trays for packaging foods wherein the tray cover may be opened to expose 15 the contents of a. selected compartment for use of the food contained therein while the remaining compartments remain in a closed and sealed condition until the contents thereof are desired for use.

20 The invention further contemplates the use of particular forms of openers for the tray cover especially adapted for trays of certain designs, one of such openers being of a two-part separable type permitting re-use thereof.

' 25 With the above and other objects in view that will become apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in so the accompanying drawings and claimed.

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tray provided with four corner compartments with a section of the cover overlying one compartment 35 rolled to a position to expose the compartment;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the cover detached from the tray body;

Figure 3 is a developed plan view of the liner for the tray that is cut and weakened on certain d0 lines to permit folding movement of the liner into compartmentiformation;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic top plan view of the tray liner shown in Figure 3, folded into compartm'ent formation;

45 Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a two-part separable key employed for ripping and rollin the tray cover as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view showing the two parts of the key separated;

m Figure 'l is an end elevational view of one of the two parts;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a four-compartment tray having the cover weakened on diagonal lines with the cover partly illustrated as in open position;

Figure 9 is a plan view oi! the tray cover shown in Figure 8; t I

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the tray cover shown in Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a perspective view 01" the liner 5 cover for the four-compartment tray shown in Figure 8;

Figure 12 is a side elevational view of a form of opener for the tray cover and embodying a pair of spaced sharpened disks to facilitate sev- 10 erance of the cover on the weakened line;

Figure 13 is a side view of another form of opener with an intermediate loop portion and a handle at each end; and

Figure 14 is a perspective view, partly broken 15 away of a three-compartment tray, with a key of the type shown in Figure 12 attached to the opening tongue.

Referring more in detail to the accompanying drawings, and particularly to Figures 1 to 4, there is illustrated a compartment tray for the packaging ot foods of diiferent kinds that may constitute an entire meal, the tray being designated in general by the reference character I5 and being preferably of rectangular form. A compartment liner for the tray is shown in developedplan view in Figure 3 and is formed of a material impervious to moisture to prevent the seepage of liquid or moist food from one compartment into another compartment. The liner I8 as shown in Figure 3, is weakened on lines IT to provide a compartment bottom it, the blank l6 having other weakened lines I9 and cut lines 20 to provide side walls 28 for the compartment tray and interlocking corner sections 22, the blank being ioldable into the rectangular formation shown in Figure 4 and so retained by the interlocking corners 22. The compartment, liner is made within the rectangular tray it with selected foods placed into the separate compartments that may comprise an entire meal.

A liner cover for the tray Ito is shown in Figure 11 and comprises top wall sections 23 having marginal flanges it to overlie the upper edges of the tray and the upper edges of the tray partitions i8a are received in upstanding crossed ridges it formed in the liner cover, the liner and cover therefore being sealed in any convenient manner.

The tray cover 26 as shown in Figure 2 comprises cover wall sections 21 overlying each compartment it of the liner and is provided with crossed ridges iiia to nest on the ridges 25 of the liner cover, the marginal edges of the tray cover 26 carrying flanges 28 adaptedto be bent downwardly over the upper sides of the tray II and permanently secured thereto in a manner to provide a hermetically sealed connection between the tray and vits cover. The tray cover is pro- 5 vided with a longitudinally extending weakened line 29 at each side of the longitudinally extending ridge 25a and a weakened line 29a; adjacent each side edge of the cover. A key flap 30 projects outwardly of the flange 28 at each end of the box between the rows of weakened lines 29 and 29a. The cover is illustrated as engaged with the tray in Figure l with a section thereof partially open to expose the contents of a liner compartment is. An opener for the tray cover 26 is shown in Figures 5 to 7, the same bein of a two-part separable type, each part comprising a shank 3| having a flattened key end 32 with an offset 33 providing a handle shank 34 carrying a loop handle 35. A cutting disk 38 is fixed to the handle shank 34 and said disk has a slotted opening 31 to receive theflattened key end 32 of the cooperating shank 3|. The key sections are illustrated as assembled in Figure 5 and shown as separated in Figure 6. An end flap is placed between the shanks 3| of the opener and the cutting disks 35 are rotated along the weakened lines 29 and 29a to aid the opener in the severance of the cover section 21, the latter being rolled into the position shown in Figure 1. It will be understood that any one of the four compartments may be opened by the device and when the cover section is in the rolled condition illustrated in Figure l, the two sections of the opener may be separated and withdrawn from the roller cover for re-assembly and use, for opening another compartment.

In the form of tray shown in Figures 8 to 10,

the tray iia. receives a compartment liner l6a and the liner cover 23, the tray cover 26a havin I edge flanges 28:; that are bent downwardly over the tray and sealed thereto. The tray cover 26a has pairs of crossed diagonally extending weakened lines 38 and two of the corners of the cover in line with the diagonally extending weakened lines 38 are provided with extension tongues I! that are adapted to be engaged by the opener or key 40 shown in Figure 12 for opening. the cover 26m.

The opener key 40 comprises a shank 4| having a central loop 42, end handles 43 on the shank 4| and cutting disks 44 flxed to the shank, one adjacent each handle. A tongue 33 of the cover 26a. is inserted in the loop 42 of the key and the key roller diagonally over the cover 26a, the cutting disks 44 cutting the cover on the weakened lines 38 to roll the cover strip 45 as shown in Figure 8 onto the key 40. The rolled strip 45 may be completely removed from the cover and subsequently unrolled from the key, or each tray may be provided with two keys for opening the cover. In Figure 8, a triangular section of the cut cover is illustrated as being partially opened to expose the liner cover 23, the latter being opened in any convenient manner to permit access to the compartments of the tray.

It is understood that the trays may be of any shape or configuration desired and the compartments may be arranged in any manner preferred, especially with reference to the number of the compartments and as an example, a three-compartment tray as shown in Figure 14, being designated by the reference character 48, the cover 41 thereof having an end tongue 48 with which the key 40a shown in Figure 13 is to be used. The key 40a has a shank 4ia, an intermediate loop 42a and end handles 41a. The key 400 is illusgrated in Figure 14 as engaged with the tongues In each of the forms of the invention disclosed herein, it will be observed that the compartments of the tray are non-communicating so that foods of different kinds to form an entire meal may be carried by a single tray and in the form of inventions illustrated in Figures 1 and 14, selected compartments may be opened, while in the form of tray shown in Figures 8 to 10, the complete cover of the tray is opened permitting access to the liner cover within the tray for the selective opening of each compartment. The form of twopart separable key shown in Figures 5 to 7, permits separation of the parts and detachment thereof from the rolled section of the cover for re-use in opening another section of the cover. The contents of the tray may be heated before the latter is opened so that a complete hot dinner will be ready for serving.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction and use thereof will at once be apparent and. while there are herein shown and described the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claimz- In a compartment tray for packaging foods of different kinds to constitute a complete meal, a tray body, a liner in the tray having four corner compartments, a. liner cover having crossed grooves to receive the upper edges of the crossed compartment walls, a cover for the tray having edge flanges hermetically sealed to the tray, and

crossed grooves registering with the liner cover.

grooves to seal the compartments against communication, the tray cover having tearing weakened lines at opposite sides of each compartment and at each side of the interfitting connection and a tongue extension on the tray cover at the outer end of each compartment adapted to receive a key for tearing and rolling a strip from I the cover to expose a compartment without EDWARD HOLOUBEK. 

